Islamist Armed Groups Responsible for Killing Civilians, Arson
- Mali’s armed forces, supported by the Russia-backed Wagner Group, and Islamist armed groups have committed serious abuses against civilians since the UN peacekeeping mission withdrew a year ago.
- Malian authorities’ failure to hold members of the security forces, the Wagner Group, and Islamist armed groups to account for grave abuses has eased the way for further atrocities.
- The Malian government should work with the National Human Rights Commission and the UN independent expert on the situation of human rights in Mali to establish a reliable means of monitoring and reporting on armed groups’ and security forces’ abuses.
(Nairobi, December 12, 2024) – Mali’s armed forces, supported by the Russia-backed Wagner Group, and Islamist armed groups have committed serious abuses against civilians since the withdrawal of the United Nations peacekeeping mission, MINUSMA, from the country a year ago, Human Rights Watch said today. The Malian government should work with the National Human Rights Commission and the UN Independent Expert on the situation of human rights in Mali to establish a reliable means of monitoring and reporting on armed groups’ and security forces’ abuses.
Since May 2024, Malian armed forces and the Wagner Group have deliberately killed at least 32 civilians, including 7 in a drone strike, forcibly disappeared 4 others, and burned at least 100 homes in military operations in towns and villages in central and northern Mali. Two Islamist armed groups, the Al-Qaeda-linked Group for the Support of Islam and Muslims (Jama’at Nusrat al-Islam wa al-Muslimeen, JNIM) and of the Islamic State in the Greater Sahara (ISGS), have summarily executed at least 47 civilians and displaced thousands of people since June. The JNIM has also burned over 1,000 homes and looted thousands of livestock. Human Rights Watch received credible reports of hundreds more civilians killed, but due to the difficulties of conducting research in central and northern Mali, the numbers in this report are conservative.
“The Malian army with the Wagner Group and Islamist armed groups have been targeting civilians and their property in violation of the laws of war,” said Ilaria Allegrozzi, senior Sahel researcher at Human Rights Watch. “Since MINUSMA left Mali a year ago, it has been extremely difficult to get comprehensive information on abuses, and we are deeply concerned that the situation is even worse than reported.”
The UN Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in Mali (MINUSMA) completed its withdrawal from the country on December 31, 2023, at the request of Malian authorities, heightening concerns about the protection of civilians and the monitoring and reporting of abuses by all sides.
Between July and October 2024, Human Rights Watch interviewed 47 witnesses and 11 other informed sources about abuses by the Malian army, Wagner Group, and Islamist armed groups. Human Rights Watch also analyzed satellite imagery showing burned homes in several villages and verified and geolocated photos and videos posted on social media or sent directly to Human Rights Watch. On October 15, Human Rights Watch wrote to Mali’s justice and defense ministers, providing its findings and related questions, but has not received replies.
Human Rights Watch documented Malian armed forces’ violations during nine counterinsurgency operations against the JNIM since May. Witnesses said soldiers carried out abuses against communities they accused of collaborating with the JNIM. A dozen witnesses described the involvement of fighters from the Wagner Group, which has supported the Malian government since December 2021. The military security company was rebranded “Africa Corps” following the death of its leader, Yevgeny Prigozhin, in 2023, when it came under direct control of the Russian Defense Ministry
“Our area is dominated by the JNIM, and you must deal with them,” said a 30-year-old man from Ndorgollé, in the central region of Ségou. “They give you permission to graze cattle and to fish. It’s a matter of survival not collaboration. But when you deal with them, you become a [government] target, even if you are not a jihadist.”
Human Rights Watch documented a Malian military drone strike in the town of Tinzaouaten, Kidal region, in August, that killed seven civilians, including five children. “My son was wounded in the head, one eye was torn apart, and he lost a lot of blood,” said the father of a 14-year-old boy. “Next to him were other dead and injured kids. I put my son on my shoulders and begged a motorcyclist to take me to the hospital, but he died on the way.” Human Rights Watch previously documented two indiscriminate drone strikes by the Malian army in central Mali in February that killed at least 14 civilians as well as other serious abuses by the Malian security forces and allied Wagner forces and by the Islamist armed groups.
The JNIM has burned homes and looted livestock in Bandiagara region since June. JNIM fighters attacked several villages in the Doucombo and Pignari Bana district areas, setting over 1,000 homes on fire, stealing at least 3,500 animals, and forcing thousands of residents to flee, according to witnesses. Residents said the attacks were in apparent retaliation against communities that the JNIM accused of collaborating with the Dan Na Ambassagou militia, an umbrella organization of self-defense groups created in 2016 “to protect the Dogon country.” The militia provided security in many villages of the area.
“The JNIM said women must cover themselves from head to toe,” said a 50-year-old man from Danibombo 1 village. “We said ‘No,’ and the JNIM started beating our women. So many joined or supported Dan Na Ambassagou. This has made our villages [the JNIM’s] target.”
Human Rights Watch also documented an ISGS attack in August against a displaced peoples’ camp in Ménaka city, Ménaka region, that killed seven civilians. “They started shooting at us,” said a 42-year-old man. “I hid inside a tent. I could feel the bullets flying over my head.”
On April 4, the UN Human Rights Council extended the mandate of the Independent Expert on the situation of human rights in Mali for one year. While this is an important step to maintain an international human rights monitoring presence in the country, the Independent Expert does not have the resources to gather in-depth reports, which are critical for accountability.
The Malian government has primary responsibility under international law for ensuring justice for serious crimes, but successive governments have made scant progress investigating, much less prosecuting, those responsible for the grave offenses since the armed conflict began in 2012.
All parties to Mali’s armed conflict – the national armed forces, the Wagner Group and other allied militias, and Islamist armed groups – are bound by international humanitarian law, notably Common Article 3 of the Geneva Conventions of 1949 and customary laws of war. Individuals who commit serious violations of the laws of war with criminal intent – that is, intentionally or recklessly – may be prosecuted for war crimes. Individuals may also be held criminally liable for assisting in, facilitating, aiding, or abetting a war crime. Mali is a party to the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court (ICC), which has opened an investigation into alleged war crimes committed in Mali since 2012.
“Malian authorities’ failure to hold members of the security forces, the Wagner Group, and other armed groups to account for grave abuses has eased the way for further atrocities,” Allegrozzi said. “The government should work closely with the UN Independent Expert to promptly investigate and appropriately prosecute all those responsible for grave abuses.”
For witness accounts and other details, please see below. The names of those interviewed have been withheld for their protection.
For more Human Rights Watch reporting on Mali, please visit:
https://www.hrw.org/africa/mali
For more information, please contact:
In Rome, Ilaria Allegrozzi (English, French, Italian): +1-646-872-2984 (mobile); or allegri@hrw.org. X: @ilariallegro
In New York, Lewis Mudge (English, French): +1-646-637-3801 (mobile); or mudgel@hrw.org. X: @LewisMudge
In Johannesburg, Allan Ngari (Swahili, English, French): +27-72-258-2897; or ngaria@hrw.org. X: @justrutz
Mali’s Armed Conflict and MINUSMA’s Departure
Since 2012, successive Malian governments have fought the JNIM and the ISGS. The hostilities have resulted in the deaths of thousands of civilians and forcibly displaced over 350,000 more.
The departure of MINUSMA in 2023 accelerated the end of the 2015 peace agreement, which MINUSMA was mandated to implement, between the Malian government and a coalition of mainly ethnic Tuareg armed groups from northern Mali. Since the current Malian authorities – who took power in a May 2021 coup – declared the deal void in January 2023, security in northern Mali has deteriorated. Hostilities resumed between an alliance of Tuareg armed groups, the Coordination of Azawad Movements (Coalition des Mouvements de l’Azawad, CMA), and the Malian army alongside Wagner Group fighters.
Since MINUSMA withdrew, the Malian army and allied Wagner fighters have increasingly killed civilians during counterinsurgency operations. According to the nonprofit organization Armed Conflict Location & Event Data (ACLED), which compiles media and nongovernmental group reports on conflict, Malian military and allied forces carried out 255 operations resulting in the killing of approximately 1,063 civilians between January 1 and October 31, compared with 216 operations, resulting in 912 civilians killed, in the same period in 2023.
ACLED compiled reports of 129 air and drone strikes between January 1 and October 31, 2024, compared with 84 in the same period in 2023. Also, according to ACLED, between January 1 and October 31, 2023, Islamist armed groups carried out 326 attacks resulting in 478 civilians killed, compared with 279 attacks and 344 civilians killed in the same period in 2024.
ACLED also supported Human Rights Watch in the verification of some incidents and the analysis of their database of events.